StarCraft II Campaign Impressions

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Our initial thoughts on the first part of Blizzard's real-time strategy trilogy.

By Charles Onyett

If you were concerned that Blizzard splitting StarCraft's storyline into three separate parts might diminish the quality and quantity of content, you really shouldn't be worried. I'm still playing through the campaign for review, but based on what I've seen so far it's already one of the best real-time strategy story modes in recent memory. The presentation and production values are absurdly high, the mission designs are wonderfully varied, and there are plenty of upgrade systems and multiple objectives along the way that make it an experience worth replaying.

For those who haven't been following StarCraft II's development since it was first announced, Blizzard eventually revealed that the storylines for Protoss, Zerg, and Terran races would be released as separate products. StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, which was made available earlier this week, would focus only on the Terrans, with Zerg and Protoss campaigns to be finished and released at a later time. This differs from the structure of the first game, where the campaign was split into three parts in the same product, each following a 10 mission arc for each race.

Dropping Nukes

In the twelve years since the original came out, Blizzard has taken the time to completely rework how the single-player story is structured. You no longer passively watch as a room full of video screens is populated with angry aliens all yelling about domination, rebellion, and eradication while repeatedly stabbing each other in the back. Instead, you follow along with rebel Jim Raynor, and the focus of the story is actually very similar to the opening Terran missions of the first game. While in 1998 you fought alongside a character named Arcturus Mengsk to overthrow the Terran Confederacy, this time you play as Raynor as he moves to topple Mengsk's corrupt Dominion. It just so happens that Kerrigan, leader of the Zerg, also shows up and starts attacking everything, which isn't making anyone's life easy.

Most story is delivered through in-game cut-scenes as characters engage in dialogue, and it's your choice who to talk to. There isn't a single path of progression to the story in StarCraft II. Instead, you have some choice about how to move forward. Your base of operations is Raynor's starship, the Hyperion. You can move around between the ship's four main rooms, talking to other major characters on the ship, observing bits of the environment to fill in backstory, watch a pro-Mengsk Keith Olberman-like newscaster deliver the day's headlines, and even play an arcade top-down shooter called Lost Viking. I already mentioned that the production values are high, and it's especially apparent while poking around the ship. There's detail packed into everything, from the holographic nametags on character models to the sign under the TV that says 'Don't shoot the screen' to the insane amount of video embedded into the upgrade menus that show exactly what each upgrade will do.

Speaking of upgrades, there's a lot to consider in the campaign. The units available to Jim Raynor in StarCraft II are not restricted to what's in the multiplayer component. That means a whole bunch of old favorites return like Goliaths, Vikings, Medics, and Firebats, and they can be further outfitted with upgrades that make them noticeably more powerful. For example, with Medics you can swap credits earned for completing missions in exchange for faster and more efficient healing, and Goliaths can be upgraded with the ability to shoot at air and ground targets at the same time. You also get research upgrades, split into Protoss and Zerg lines, where you'll be able to unlock even more special abilities to help you out in battle. These include new units, the ability for ships and vehicles to regenerate health, and upgrading Refineries so SCVs are no longer required to boost gas reserves. Having all these options to customize your forces lets you focus on powering up the units you like, and ultimately add to your motivation to continue through the campaign and chase additional rewards.

Train Assault

Unlike many other real-time strategy campaigns that slowly unlock more units in a preset fashion as you go, in StarCraft II you'll be awarded a new unit for the mission you choose to take on, which adds to the incentive to jump around and pursue preferred units. Because the campaign isn't tied to the strict rules of multiplayer balance, it also means you'll square off against unique foes, like lumbering, laser-blasting Protoss guardian statues and hulking battleships. It really makes the campaign feel like its own, self-contained mode instead of simply a tutorial for the multiplayer. On top of that, the mission design is simply outstanding so far.

The missions here, each given out by one of the main characters, are all given a narrative wrapping with cut-scenes and voice over, making each feel important. In each mission is introduced a unique mechanic for keeping the pressure on in an entertaining way. Whether it's a timed day night cycle that regulates your ability to attack and defend, timed trains that need to be destroyed as they speed across a map, or Protoss shrines that need to be looted before they're all locked down, there are very few dull moments across any of the missions. I keep waiting to for the moment where the action slows, but with so many distinct sets of objectives, special units, and timed events, it's so far kept the momentum from getting bogged down.

As for the character development, it's fairly simplistic so far. Nobody in the game comes off as a truly magnetic personality, but they're all likeable stereotypes. For instance, Raynor is still depressed about Kerrigan getting turned into a Zerg and wants revenge against Mengsk, so he drinks a lot and exchanges workmanlike repartees with Tychus Findlay, another gruff soldier who, unsurprisingly, likes killing stuff and swills beer on the battlefield. Despite their unremarkable motivations, things don't get overly serious as they crack jokes and Findlay insists on smoking cigars while encased in a suit of Marine armor. Who knows though, I'm not done yet, maybe there'll be some significant revelations later on. Regardless, it's still far more personality and character development than you would normally get in a real-time strategy campaign.

Starship Exploration

The most interesting parts so far are missions where you're forced to make a choice. When you near the end of a major character's mission arc, you'll be asked whether you want to side with them or an opposing faction for the final mission. I won't say what happens, but will say that depending on what you choose, the mission and outcome will be drastically altered, and cut-scenes and voice over will support either decision (again, insane production value). If you're obsessive like me, you'll want to make a save before inputting a choice of who to side with just to see how things differ.

Adding even more incentive to everything already here is the achievement system, which like in World of Warcraft has been implemented here to give you more to do. Again, for the obsessive types, that means more motivation to replay missions at higher difficulty settings to grab all the rewards, especially since some unlock special portraits for your battle.net account. When you're done with any mission, you can also visit the mission archive to replay all cinematics and missions, making it easy to access content you've already unlocked without having to meticulously keep track of saved games.

While there's still plenty more to see before a review will be ready, from what I've played so far I'd recommend StarCraft II to anyone who's even remotely interested. It's so far impressively polished, remarkably presented, and filled with so much variety that it's difficult to imagine anyone not being entertained. Unless, that is, you hate real-time strategy games, but then you're probably not reading this article.